Zazen Koan

I’m off to Anchorage for the weekend in a little bit and am leaving you, dear reader,  something to play with – same thing in brief that we’ll be investigating with delight this weekend – the koan of zazen. Here’s how Katagiri Roshi put it: 

I often emphasize that zazen is a koan we have to digest in our whole life. Zazen is not the simple issue you have thought. “Simple issue you have thought” means you usually think zazen is a means to discover peace. At that time, you never have the great opportunity to digest zazen exactly in your life….If you misunderstand zazen you misunderstand Buddhism. Even though it is difficult, you have to practice zazen in the appropriate way. That’s why Dogen-zenji wrote ninety-five fascicles of Shobogenzo, explaining the meaning of zazen, the quality of zazen, the significance of zazen.